The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-09-03

NOW unto him that is able to do exceeding
abundantly above all that we can ask or think
according to the power that worketh in us"
Ephesians iii. 20.l
Of all the sacred writers, St. Paul
excels in magnifsing the power, wis
dom and goodness of God. He elevates
our faith and hope to the highest de-
gree of confiding trust and expectancy
in God, and then he scars away beyond
our highest possible reach and declares
that his love surpasseth all knowledge;
and that his goodness is above all that
we can think or ask.
How comforting to the soul is the
assurance that all things-yea the Uni
verse-came from one God; God whose
power created the worlds-whose wis
dom is so perfect that he cannot make
a mistake, and whose love and goodness
assure us that final ill is not POSSIBLE
ity to any human being;-that he is
directing the course of this world to
the consummation of that destiny de-
signed by him at the beginning.
In the present state of existence man
at his best is an imperfect being. 1t is
said that Michael Angelo, the most re-
nowned sculptor that ever lived, would
often reject and cast away statue
almost finished, because of an imper-
lection that none could see but himself.
These works of art were gathered and
loved by others and priced as far more
valuable than gold OF silver. Mozart,
the greatest of all musical composers,
said that he had only lived to learn a
little about music. Newton, the wisest
man the world ever produced, was dis
tressed in mind with a sense of his
small attainments and the vast ocean
that opened out before him entirely IN
discovered. And if this be great fact
with the greatest and best how much
more so is it of the great masses of
mankind?
John Wesley contemplated the con-
dition of the world in his day and
speaks of it morally and intellectually
as appalling. He says, Sermon "a, vol.
2, page 122 SIN what condition are
the numberless islands of the Pacific
oceanl How little is their state above
that of wolves and bears. But does
not the Father of men care for them,
oh, mystery of providence And who
cares for the thousands, myriads of
wretched Africans. Oh, Father of
mercies, are these the work of thine
own hands
"What say you of the thousands of
Laplanders, of Finlanders and Green
landers. Add to these myriads of Libe-
rians and thousands of Poles and Mus
covites and Christians of Turkey in
Europe. Are they as civilized as sheep
and oxen, and did God so love these
that he gave his only begotten Son that
they might not perish but have ever
lasting life Then why are they thus,
oh, mystery of providencel"
III.
This condition of the world deepened
the mystery with Wesley as he viewed
this life as taught by his creed to be
probationary state, a state of trial pre-
paratory to heaven in the world to
come. This doctrine implies that every
human being m lst be converted to God
during this life or lost forever Now,
if all are on probation, and probation
means trial, then does not justice de-
mand that all have a fair trial T? And
will not God of justice and love grant
fair and impartial trial to all ?
Wesley was a man of deep learning
and a great soul. He saw that if man.
kind are on probation during this life
that they do not have the privileges and
opportunities of fair trial that justice
demands, and he was bewildered and
lost in the limitations of his theology,
which declared that every soul that de-
parts this life unconverted is doomed
to suffer endless misery without hope
or remedy.
He saw that man is a creature of cir
cumstances to such degree that makes
it impracticable and impossible for him
to have the conditions of fair trial
demanded by justice. He said. page
1881
1--WE know not why the lot of this
man is cast in Europe, and that one in
the wilds of America" "How many
are from their infancy hedged in with
such relations that they seem to have
no choice, no possibility of being useful
to themselves or Others" why are
they antecedent to their choice entan-
gled in such connections ? Nothing
is more sure than without holiness no
man shall see the Lord
"Why is it, then, that so vast major
ity of mankind are cut off from all
means, all possibility of holiness even
from their mothers womb"